MOIL staff threatens to move court over sell-off

Emboldened by the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on the privatisation of oil PSUs, Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) employees on Tuesday threatene...

Emboldened by the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on the privatisation of oil PSUs, Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) employees on Tuesday threatened to drag the disinvestment ministry to court following the rejection of their bid for acquiring majority stake in the company.

‘‘We are proposing to take legal action against the disinvestment ministry’s move rejecting our expression of interest for buying government’s equity in the company,’’ A.P. Tiwari, secretary general of Rashtriya Manganese Mazdoor Sangh, said here.

Tiwari said the employees’ initial bid had been rejected on the ground as it had failed to meet the required turnover criteria specified for bidders at Rs 75 crore.

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It was unfair on the part of the government to impose the turnover criteria on employees as they could not be treated at par with other corporate entities. Government has decided to sell 51 per cent stake in the mining company to a strategic partner, along with management control. It has mandated merchant banker KPMG to act as the global advisor.

The Madhya Pradesh government had earlier opted to tag along with the Centre in offloading its 8 per cent stake.